Qualcomm, China’s Momenta to build self

Chinese startup Momenta will develop autonomous driving platforms based on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Ride chips, which the companies said will bring the same advanced driving capabilities to mainstream models priced between RMB 100,000 and RMB 200,000 ($13,800-$27,600) as their more premium offerings. A number of gasoline cars and new energy vehicles will be capable of handling lane changes on Chinese highways and complex urban scenarios and driving themselves into pre-booked parking spots using the technology, according to a Tuesday announcement. The US chip designer has recently been partnering with auto majors including General Motors and Toyota, both of whom are among the major investors in Suzhou-headquartered Momenta. The Snapdragon Ride processor was designed to handle all assisted driving functions on a system-on-chip rather than on different chips, making it cost-competitive against Nvidia’s Orin chips, a mainstream choice for automakers. [TechNode reporting, Qualcomm announcement, in Chinese]